Primary retinal pathology in multiple sclerosis as detected by optical coherence tomography.

Optical coherence tomography studies in multiple sclerosis have primarily focused on evaluation of the retinal nerve fibre layer. The aetiology of retinal changes in multiple sclerosis is thought to be secondary to optic nerve demyelination. The objective of this study was to use optical coherence tomography to determine if a subset of patients with multiple sclerosis exhibit primary retinal neuronopathy, in the absence of retrograde degeneration of the retinal nerve fibre layer and to ascertain if such patients may have any distinguishing clinical characteristics.

Extensive geographic and ontogenetic variation characterizes the trophic ecology of a temperate reef fish on southern California (USA) rocky reefs.

Interactions between predator and prey act to shape the structure of ecological communities, and these interactions can differ across space. California sheephead are common predators of benthic invertebrates in kelp beds and rocky reefs in southern California, USA. Through gut content and stable isotope (δC and †N) analyses, we investigated geographic and ontogenetic variation in trophic ecology across 9 populations located at island and mainland sites throughout southern California.

Object working memory performance depends on microstructure of the frontal-occipital fasciculus.

Re-entrant circuits involving communication between the frontal cortex and other brain areas have been hypothesized to be necessary for maintaining the sustained patterns of neural activity that represent information in working memory, but evidence has so far been indirect. If working memory maintenance indeed depends on such temporally precise and robust long-distance communication, then performance on a delayed recognition task should be highly dependent on the microstructural integrity of white-matter tracts connecting sensory areas with prefrontal cortex. This study explored the effect of variations in white-matter microstructure on working memory performance in two separate groups of participants: patients with multiple sclerosis and age- and sex-matched healthy adults.

Variation in delta13C and delta15N diet-vibrissae trophic discrimination factors in a wild population of California sea otters.

The ability to quantify dietary inputs using stable isotope data depends on accurate estimates of isotopic differences between a consumer (c) and its diet (d), commonly referred to as trophic discrimination factors (TDFs) and denoted by delta(c-d). At present, TDFs are available for only a few mammals and are usually derived in captive settings. The magnitude of TDFs and the degree to which they vary in wild populations is unknown.

Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) levels in peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) eggs from California correlate with diet and human population density.

Peregrine falcons are now considered a conservation success story due in part to the phasing out of harmful contaminants that adversely affected reproduction. Recent studies have shown that peregrine eggs collected from California cities, however, have high levels of the higher-brominated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (SigmaPBDE(183-209)), a class of industrial flame retardants, in comparison to published data for other wildlife. Sources of these high PBDE levels and unusual PBDE profiles are unknown.

Dispersal provided resilience to range collapse in a marine mammal: insights from the past to inform conservation biology.

Population loss is often a harbinger of species extinction, but few opportunities exist to follow a species' demography and genetics through both time and space while this occurs. Previous research has shown that the northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus) was extirpated from most of its range over the past 200-800 years and that some of the extirpated populations had unique life history strategies. In this study, widespread availability of subfossils in the eastern Pacific allowed us to examine temporal changes in spatial genetic structure during massive population range contraction and partial recovery.

Pleistocene to historic shifts in bald eagle diets on the Channel Islands, California.

Studies of current interactions among species, their prey, and environmental factors are essential for mitigating immediate threats to population viability, but the true range of behavioral and ecological flexibility can be determined only through research on deeper timescales. Ecological data spanning centuries to millennia provide important contextual information for long-term management strategies, especially for species that now are living in relict populations. Here we use a variety of methods to reconstruct bald eagle diets and local abundance of their potential prey on the Channel Islands from the late Pleistocene to the time when the last breeding pairs disappeared from the islands in the mid-20th century.

Detection of Staphylococcus aureus including MRSA on environmental surfaces in a jail setting.

We examined jail environmental surfaces to explore whether they might serve as reservoirs of viable methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). We swabbed 132 surfaces, inoculated primary and secondary mannitol salts and oxacillin-resistant screening agar, and used API tests to identify S. aureus and E-tests to determine methicillin/oxacillin resistance.

Using stable isotopes to investigate individual diet specialization in California sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis).

Differences in diet composition among conspecifics (dietary specialization) have been documented across a broad range of taxonomic groups and habitats, and such variation at the individual level is increasingly recognized as an important component of diversity in trophic interactions. Accurate identification of individual dietary specialization, however, requires longitudinal dietary records that are labor-intensive and cost-prohibitive to obtain for many species. Here we explore the use of stable isotopes (delta13C and delta15N) as a promising technique for detecting and quantifying patterns of individual dietary specialization.

Varicella-zoster virus vasculopathy and central nervous system immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome with human immunodeficiency virus infection treated with steroids.

Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) is widely recognized and rarely involves the central nervous system (CNS). Patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) are at an increased risk for developing CNS-IRIS upon initiation of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). This syndrome can be fatal and requires extreme vigilance in determining if a treatable underlying opportunistic infection exists.

Vitamin D status and effect of low-dose cholecalciferol and high-dose ergocalciferol supplementation in multiple sclerosis.

Background: Vitamin D is important for bone health and immune regulation, and has been shown to be low in multiple sclerosis (MS). We sought to determine the effect of over the counter low dose cholecalciferol (LDC) and high dose ergocalciferol (HDE) on the vitamin D levels in MS patients.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated serum 25-hydroxy-vitamin D [25(OH)D] levels of 199 patients (CIS, n = 32; RRMS, n = 115; PPMS, n = 10; SPMS, n = 16; Transverse Myelitis (TM), n = 9; other neurological diseases, n = 16) attending our clinic between 2004 and 2008.

Agricultural origins and the isotopic identity of domestication in northern China.

Stable isotope biochemistry (delta(13)C and delta(15)N) and radiocarbon dating of ancient human and animal bone document 2 distinct phases of plant and animal domestication at the Dadiwan site in northwest China. The first was brief and nonintensive: at various times between 7900 and 7200 calendar years before present (calBP) people harvested and stored enough broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) to provision themselves and their hunting dogs (Canis sp.) throughout the year.

Intrathecal analgesia for refractory cancer pain.

The use of intrathecal analgesics is an important treatment consideration for many patients with chronic cancer pain. This review describes the various opioid and nonopioid analgesics that have been used in this setting, including morphine, hydromorphone, fentanyl, meperidine, methadone, sufentanil, local anesthetics, clonidine, ketamine, baclofen, midazolam, betamethasone, and octreotide. We discuss available evidence for their analgesic and adverse effects.

Levetiracetam-induced diffuse interstitial lung disease.

The authors report the first case of levetiracetam-induced diffuse interstitial lung disease. The patient is a 9-year-old girl who was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit for aspiration pneumonia. She has a history of epilepsy, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, asthma, and repeated hospitalizations for presumed aspiration pneumonia, which resolved with conventional medical treatment.

Cushing's syndrome in a clinic population with diabetes.

Background: A recent report has suggested that occult Cushing's syndrome (CS) may be present in a significant number of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The aim of this study was to determine whether any patients in our clinic population with diabetes had this condition.

Methods: One hundred and seventy-one consecutive overweight attendees at the diabetic clinic were enrolled in a study to assess the presence of occult CS.

The shifting baseline of northern fur seal ecology in the northeast Pacific Ocean.

Historical data provide a baseline against which to judge the significance of recent ecological shifts and guide conservation strategies, especially for species decimated by pre-20th century harvesting. Northern fur seals (NFS; Callorhinus ursinus) are a common pinniped species in archaeological sites from southern California to the Aleutian Islands, yet today they breed almost exclusively on offshore islands at high latitudes. Harvest profiles from archaeological sites contain many unweaned pups, confirming the presence of temperate-latitude breeding colonies in California, the Pacific Northwest, and the eastern Aleutian Islands.

Pleistocene to recent dietary shifts in California condors.

We used carbon and nitrogen isotopes to investigate changes in the diet of California condors from the Pleistocene to the recent. During the Pleistocene, condors from California fed on both terrestrial megafauna and marine mammals. Early accounts reported condors feeding on the carcasses of marine mammals, but by the late 1700s, condor diets had shifted predominantly to terrestrial animals, following the commercial harvesting of marine mammals and the development of cattle ranching on land.

Combining sources in stable isotope mixing models: alternative methods.

Stable isotope mixing models are often used to quantify source contributions to a mixture. Examples include pollution source identification; trophic web studies; analysis of water sources for soils, plants; or water bodies, and many others. A common problem is having too many sources to allow a unique solution.

Word shape's in poor shape for the race to the lexicon.

Current models of fluent reading often assume that fast and automatic word recognition involves the use of a supraletter feature corresponding to the envelope or shape of the word when it is printed in lowercase. The advantages of mixed case over pure case and of pure lowercase over pure uppercase have often been taken as evidence favoring the word-shape hypothesis. Alternative explanations for these phenomena are offered.